My Gap Year Internship

My name is Georgia Millroy, and for the past 2 weeks I have been doing an internship at RheinAhrCampus Remagen. For some background information about myself, I was born in London but live in Australia and I finished high school in November 2013. I decided to take a year off – known as a “gap year” in Australia – before I began my Law & International Relations degree at university in 2015. I worked two jobs for 8 months so that I could save money to travel. On August 30th, I left Australia and went to Cambodia for 10 weeks to teach English in a village school in the town of Siem Reap.  This was the most rewarding, humbling and formative experience of my life. Half way through November I left Cambodia and went to Europe, had my 18th birthday in Amsterdam then arrived in Remagen to begin my internship at RAC.

This internship has been a fantastic way to garner real-life work experience. My time here has been spent sitting in on lectures, learning about web design, writing reports and meeting international students. Last week, I spent my time here working on a report about RAC’s 3 week exchange program with Coastal Carolina University in America. It was interesting to read about the opportunities RAC offers its students in terms of international study, as well as learn about CCU from the student reviews of their trip. I also attended lectures of Mr Faulstich and Dr Borgmann and learnt about communication in business.

My favorite part of this internship has definitely been the people I’ve met. I work in an office with a girl named Laura, who’s also Australian and is doing two semesters abroad as part of her business degree. After being away for so long it’s so nice to hear an Australian accent! I also became friends with Rashima, who supports incoming international students. New friendships always remind me that one of the best things about travel is the people you meet along the way.
It has been fascinating to compare my work here to my work in Cambodia. I used to ride my bike for 20 minutes in the 30 degree heat to get to work in the mornings, now I wear as many layers as possible to stay warm during my train ride and walk to RAC. I am used to being inside a classroom with 25 energetic, loud children all demanding my attention; being in an office now seems very quiet and calm in comparison. Ultimately, I am so thankful for such different opportunities to work and grow in different environments.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship at RAC. It has given me practical workplace skills, introduced me to many new people and been a wonderful learning experience. If there are any young people who are interested in doing at short internship at RAC, I encourage you to contact the university with your enquiries. It really has been such a beneficial experience for me and I would recommend it to any young person who is interested.